


Optative Shadows

by SoftButchCassidy



Series: Aurora and Mikris (and friends!) [10]
Category: Destiny (Video Games)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Character Development, Mostly just semi-drabbles exploring Xen's addition to the fireteam, and what they all go through during the campaign, spoilers for shadowkeep
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-18
Updated: 2020-01-18
Packaged: 2021-02-27 10:20:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,017
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22305574
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SoftButchCassidy/pseuds/SoftButchCassidy
Summary: The Hive on the moon are frenzied. Aurora will put them all down. Zavrik is at her side; a new Titan friend tags along. But things go bad... very, very bad. The Pyramids, the Dark, the Nightmares, the Garden...
Series: Aurora and Mikris (and friends!) [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1496270
Comments: 2
Kudos: 19





	Optative Shadows

**Author's Note:**

> i love making my ocs suffer for no goddamn reason  
> btw did yall know "optative mood" referencing the hand cannon from undying is a type of grammatical mode of verbs, expressing hopes and wishes? things like, "may you live a good life" and "if only things were different"

Aurora sprinted through the battle, Ace cracking in her hand. Zavrik kept pace with ease. 

"I keep wanting to look for Carinna," she admitted to him as she stabbed a Knight. 

"Me too," he said. A black hole flung from his palm devoured a horde of Thrall. "We have to focus."

Aurora nodded and darted again toward the unsettling red tower. 

“We’re nearly there, Commander,” Zavrik reported.

“Good,” Zavala’s voice crackled over comms.

Aurora cursed as some Guardian she didn’t recognize took a shot toward her. She snarled. “Watch it!” she snapped.

“What the--”

Aurora lifted Ace and let fire wash over her. She hip-fired a dozen shots into a swarm of Hive. 

Zavrik scoffed at the other Guardians staring. “Fight the Hive!” he barked at them. “Aurora, we’ve got to get closer.”

Aurora nodded and bolted forward. “Man, I’m so glad I told Misraaks to keep the House away from the Moon,” she grumbled.

“It would… not have ended well,” Zavala agreed begrudgingly. “As much as I am not supposed to say anything regarding your… commitments… they cannot come back like we can. Even we fear the Hive.”

“They can’t do anything to me anymore,” Aurora said coldly. 

Zavrik suddenly gasped and ducked under a jagged blade. Both of them whirled around, weapons raised at the roaring Knight.

The Knight shattered into ashes. 

Aurora straightened to thank the Titan and froze.

"Oh! Holy shit, you've got four arms!"

Aurora blinked. "You're Vex!"

Zavrik sighed. "Aurora, this is Xenophon. You seriously haven't heard about them?"

Aurora shook her head.

"Aurora? As in Aurora-11?" Xenophon laughed in amazement. "Hero of the City, ambassador of the friendly Fallen?"

"Not Ambassador," Aurora corrected. "That's my wife's job. What are..."

"We're part Vex, yeah," Xenophon said with a shrug. Their tail flicked behind them. "Rezzed this way. Totally cool, promise."

"I've read about them," Zavrik agreed. "And spoken with Asher."

Xenophon's face turned into a softer smile at the mention. "Aw, he talks about us?"

"Oh my stars, YOU'RE Asher's boyfriend?" Aurora grinned. 

"Guardians," Saffron said urgently. "There's a massive spike of energy... I don't like it."

Everyone got much more serious. "Okay, we have to move," Aurora said. "You can come along, Xen, if you want?"

"Right behind you," they said.

Xenophon kept pace easily, rifle rattling as they helped gun down Hive. Aurora felt uneasy the closer they got to that massive tower. 

“We’re heading inside,” Zavrik called over the howls of the Hive. “Commander, are you all okay out here?”

“We’ll take care of it,” Zavala assured.

“Guardians,” Ikora’s voice said. “I know what caused that spike. Who caused it.”

“Ikora?” Zavrik asked.

Xenophon grimaced at the encrusted walls. Aurora gave them a light tap to the shoulder and a jerk of her head. The three started to head inside, but froze as Ikora spoke an answer. 

“Eris Morn.”

***

“What was that?” 

Xenophon aimed at the shadowy… thing. “It vanished,” they said. “We don’t like this…”

“No, me neither,” Aurora said warily. “Be careful…”

“It’s dark,” Zavrik muttered as the three Guardians crept forward.

“Do you need a light?” Zeta asked.

“No, I mean… it’s Dark. Capital D.” Zavrik’s fingers were too tight on his rifle. “There’s something very, very Dark ahead of us.”

Aurora took a breath. “Well. Only one thing we can do.”

“Kick its ass?” Xenophon suggested.

“I like you,” Aurora told them. “Let’s go.”

The three of them jumped down, only to freeze. 

“It’s the Hellmouth,” Aurora started, grabbing at Zavrik’s arm as she looked at the lamp.

“No, it’s not, Aurora,” Zavrik said. “But it’s… similar. That lamp will explode, Xenophon, be careful--”

“Hive,” Xenophon warned. “No, wait, what?”

“Taken? No… what is… what is this?”

The Thrall twisted from red and black shadows. Flickers of a terrible energy wafted from them. Aurora felt sick.

Xenophon shuddered. “Okay… that’s bad.”

Zavrik shook his head. “I don’t know either.”

“We should… kill them?”

Aurora raised Ace and fired. A Thrall exploded. “They can die. Let’s go.”

Xenophon stayed right with them as they battled through the labyrinth. Solar and void shook the not-Hive into dust.

They bolted free and--

Xenophon skidded to a halt with a curse.

Aurora staggered.

Zavrik went dead still.

There were dozens of them. 

Ghosts.

Not Ghosts.

But humanoid shadows, hovering limp and silent and cold, staring down with blank faces. 

Their chests glowed like coals.

“What the… fuck,” Aurora whispered in horror.

“I don’t know,” Zavrik said. “I don’t know what those are. Traveler help us, what the hell is going on here?”

Xenophon’s tail lashed in anxiety. “Well… okay, now we understand why you told us we could stay behind. Wow.”

“You… still can,” Aurora said.

“No way. We’re in this together now. Three’s safer, anyway. We’ll do what we can to protect you. And we’re a Guardian, this is what we do.”

Aurora felt a lump in her throat. Carinna would have said something similar. She nodded. “Come on, then. Let’s find Eris… and the source of whatever the hell is going on.”

They walked forward, watching the shadowy figures. Aurora heard whispers in the back of her head, distant screams, the cold touch of the Dark. It was strong. 

Very, very, very strong. 

She felt a jolt of sudden, blinding terror, a choking guilt,  _ these were all Guardians, all of them, dead, dead Guardians, how many were ones she had caused the deaths of? _

Zavrik reached over to her. “Aurora,” he said.

“Oh, stars, what the hell is this?” she gasped, grasping at her chest.

Xenophon touched her shoulder gently, their solar Light soothing. “Easy, friend,” they said softly. “We’re with you.”

“Think about Mikris and Tevis,” Zavrik urged her, holding her arm and turning her helmet away from the shadows to look instead at him. His voice carried rare emotion, soft and caring, a tone she had only heard a few times. “Whatever’s going on, it wants us afraid. I can feel it. Think about them. They’re waiting for you.”

“Mikris and Tevis?” Xenophon asked.

Aurora felt her modulator crackle. “My wife. Our kid. We’ve only had Tev a couple days… I got my secondaries at the end of summer, and Mickie found Tev and brought them home. They were so weak… but they’re okay. They’re going to be okay. They’re such a wonderful child, by the Sky, I love them…” She took a breath, the warm, comforting thought of her family chasing away the biting hatred and guilt and pain.

Xenophon smiled. “That’s so wonderful,” they said kindly. “You deserve that joy, Aurora. Hold on to that. Tell us about them when we’re out of here, maybe?”

She nodded, a tiny smile glowing on her face. “Okay. Yeah. Yeah, I will. Thanks… thanks, guys.”

Zavrik nudged Xenophon lightly. “You’re a kind person,” he said. “Thank you.”

“Just another Guardian,” they said. “Let’s go kick some Darkness ass so we can hear about this cute little kid.”

Aurora laughed a little bit.

They stepped forward and around the corner.

***

Aurora choked and grabbed her fireteam. “No, no no, fuck, no--”

“What?” Xenophon reached back, flames building at the edges of their armor.

Zavrik shook. He never shook.

“The Pyramids,” Saffron whispered. Her voice trembled. “It… it… that shouldn’t… be here.”

Aurora crumpled to her knees, clutching Ace. She rasped prayers to the Traveler in Eliksni.

“What the hell is that?” Xenophon asked.

“The Darkness,” Zavrik said. “That’s… the Darkness.”

Xenophon shuddered and shook their head. “It… hurts. Shit. That hurts.” They pressed their hand to their head, grimacing. 

“These… Pyramids… I’ve seen them in dreams. In visions.” Zavrik stared at the black shape. “They are… what is responsible for the destruction of our world. Of every world. They’re Dark. Darker than the Hive. Than the Taken. Aurora’s seen them, too. Visions, dreams. The Drifter, Mara Sov…”

“The Vex,” Xenophon said.

“The Vex?”

“We… don’t know how we know that.” Xenophon frowned. “But they… know. We… know. It’s… we don’t understand, it’s… locked, like it’s…”

Aurora staggered to her feet. Her eyes flickered a dozen colors. “I’m going to fucking destroy it,” she said in a frenzy. “I’m going to wipe that thing from the face of the fucking solar system. I don’t care what it takes.”

She stormed ahead.

“Wait, shit, Aurora!” Xenophon shared an alarmed look with Zavrik before they rushed after her. 

More of the shadowy figures hovered in the catacombs that led to the Pyramid. Aurora was marching ahead, but she was shaking. 

“G-Guardian,” Saffron stuttered. Her voice warped. “Something’s… not right. I… it feels… it’s trying to get to me. It’s… trying to… invade my Light.”

Aurora let her blind, terrified fury rise higher. “Stay strong, little Light,” she whispered. “I won’t let anything hurt you.”

The shadows screamed as she passed by them. 

“Aurora,” Zavrik said urgently as they caught up to her. “There. Across…”

“I see it.” Aurora steeled her grip on Ace. “Something’s going to come out of that.”

“We’re going to kill it,” Xenophon said. “And then destroy that Pyramid.”

Zavrik shook his head. “This isn’t going to end well.”

They strode across the stone toward the red and black shadow. Veins of red energy coursed away from it. 

“There’s something… in there, all right,” Xenophon said hesitantly.

“There’s an energy field,” Zeta said, voice strained. “There’s no way we can get through it…”

“Uhh, that thing’s waking up,” Xenophon said urgently.

Aurora raised Ace. “Zavrik. Zav, that…”

“Back, get back!” Zavrik grabbed them both and backed them away from the pulsating shadow. 

Green eyes glimmered and the shadow exploded into a massive Knight.

Aurora screamed in terrified rage. Ace cracked. “I KILLED YOU!”

“It’s not really him!” Zavrik grabbed her arm. 

“Crota?!” Xenophon looked sharp at them. “Is that what that is?”

“I fucking KILLED you!” Aurora howled her fury. “Zavrik, I’m going to kill him again! FUCK YOU!” 

Xenophon pulled their hammer into their hands as the Thrall came pouring toward them. 

Aurora went cold. Her arrow pinned the not-Crota into place, showered orbs of Light, and Ace burst down the Thrall. 

Zavrik’s Nova Bomb sent bits of chitin flying from Crota. 

“He’s regenerating!” Xenophon yelled, jetting back and flinging a grenade at the Thrall. 

The ground shook and unearthly roars rattled their ears. 

Fikrul and Ghaul were pulled into being, glowing with Darkness. Aurora reeled back. 

“No… I killed them, I… I…”

“We can’t beat all of those things at once,” Zavrik said. “We need to go. Now! Aurora!”

“ _ Guardian! Come… with… ME! _ ”

A woman’s voice chanted Hive incantations. Aurora felt the pull, her vision warping with green energy. 

She stumbled forward looking at the Pyramid, far higher, further away. A woman stood at the edge of the cliff, staring at it. A shadow floated beside her.

“Eris Morn,” Aurora said, her voice cracking. 

Eris didn’t turn. “Aurora,” she said softly. “Zavrik. And…” She frowned now and turned. “Xenophon?”

Xenophon waved. “Hiya, Eris,” they said. “Um… Asher says hi.”

She studied them for a moment. Something like a smile almost touched her face. “Ah. I see. My friend… I should have guessed that you would get along with him.”

“There’s… definitely something more important to talk about,” Xenophon said. “Like, uh… what the hell is that Pyramid?”

Eris stared at it again. The fireteam stepped up beside her. “The source of these Nightmares,” she said. She gestured to the shadow beside her. “You’ve heard the stories. You’ve heard of the Darkness that destroyed our world. This… thing holds the secrets of the Collapse.”

“It should be destroyed,” Zavrik said.

“Yes,” Eris agreed. “But we need to know how.”

“You seek to study it,” Zavrik said. “Dangerous. Stronger minds have fallen to less.”

“Not mine,” she hissed. “We need to know what this thing is. What it wants. What its weakness is. Before it can destroy us again.”

“So how do we do that?” Xenophon asked.

Eris turned slowly. Her eyes glittered with righteous fury. “We find a way inside.”

***

“Welcome. We’ve been waiting.”

The Ghosts spoke in unison, their warped voices matching.

Aurora crumpled to her knees, hissing from her modulator, grasping her head. Nightmares circled her, whispering, speaking aloud her guilt, her pain--

Zavrik reached down and grabbed her arm. “Aurora! Aurora, focus!”

“No, no, no, stop, stop, go away,” Aurora begged. 

Xenophon shoved aside the figures. They set their hands on her shoulders and spun her to face them. “Aurora,” they said insistently. “Aurora, they’re not real!”

“I killed them, it was my fault, I was too slow, I could have stopped it, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, I couldn’t save him, he--”

“No!” Xenophon’s unsettling red eyes stared into her. “Think about Mikris. Think about Tevis.”

Aurora blinked owlishly. “Mickie… Tev…”

“Think about them. They need you, Aurora.”

Zavrik touched her arm gently. “They love you. They’re waiting for you. This thing-- it’s going to show us terrible things. Don’t listen to it. We have to find out how to destroy this. To keep us safe, to keep everyone safe. Do it for your wife, your child.”

Aurora took a shuddering breath. Her optics flickered back to one of the nightmares looming over her. His name broke from her modulator. “Cayde…”

Zavrik grunted and thrust his hand out into the figure, breaking the illusion into smoke. “That’s not him, Aurora,” he said, almost harsh. He hadn’t shown such strong emotion in a long time, and that alone jarred her. “Cayde wouldn’t say those things to you. You know that. He was your friend, and he did not blame you for what happened. He wouldn’t ever hate you. He cared about you. Cayde would laugh at this, wouldn’t he? He would have some joke about these things.”

“I’m so scared.”

“It’s okay.” Xenophon smiled gently. “You can be scared. We’ll be right here with you. Just hold on. Stay with us. Think about your family. We can do this.”

Aurora nodded. She still looked weak, afraid, eyes flitting to the Nightmares staring at her. But there was a touch of that determination back. That resolve.

The Guardians faced the Darkness and stepped forward together.

***

They stared at the… thing.

Xenophon stepped back, reaching for their head. “Ow, shit,” they hissed.

“Xen?” Aurora asked, worried.

Xenophon shook their head. “We… we don’t… something’s wrong.”

“What is it?” Zavrik asked.

Xenophon cautiously inched toward the artifact. “It’s… it’s… there’s something. We can’t remember. But it’s…”

Zavrik straightened in stunned alarm. “Vex?”

“Yes? No. We don’t know. Maybe.” They sounded frustrated. “There’s something that we can’t remember. It’s there, but we can’t… get to it. In our head.”

Aurora took a breath. “We can’t go back now. It wants us to… take this… whatever. Maybe it’ll unlock whatever memory you can’t open.”

“Maybe.” They squared their shoulders. “Okay. Let’s take it.”

They reached for the artifact together.

Black. 

Then, white.

Red. 

Xenophon knew exactly where they were. 

The flowers bloomed at their feet. Red as blood. Red as their eyes. 

The flowers grew in every direction. 

Tomorrow and yesterday--

Home.

No. 

Not home.

Xen stared at a place they’d never been and yet knew. It was a place unfathomable but made perfect order in Xen’s mind.

“You made it.”

Xen froze.

They knew that voice. Gentle, kind, masculine. It wasn’t English, either. It was Japanese.

Slowly, too slowly, they turned around. They hardly dared move, else they would bend a single flower stem.

A man stood in the field. He was slender and a little short, bespectacled with a face kind and welcoming. He was in his forties, with neatly trimmed hair and a pristine white jacket--no, a lab coat. A small scar marred his lip. 

The man smiled, but it didn’t meet his eyes. His hands were clasped in front of him, fingers angled to form a shape. 

Xenophon looked past him to the looming ships in the distance. Massive black pyramids dotted the sky.

The man caught their attention again, taking a step forward. “We have heard your cries for help,” the man said. He held out his hands, as though placating. “And soon, we will answer.”

It was wrong. Everything about this was wrong. Xen took a step back from him. He knew the answer already, but asked anyway, hoarse Japanese crackling from his vocal modulator. “Who are you?”

The man paused and cocked his head. He nearly chuckled. He held out his hands, a sweeping gesture. “Don’t you recognize us?”

He slowly stepped forward, arms moving back to his sides. “We are not your friend. We are not your enemy.”

Wrong, it was wrong, Xen’s mind screamed. That voice and that face, speaking like them, like Xen, no, it was wrong--

The man stopped in front of them. He looked up at the towering Titan without a shadow of fear. He raised his hands to his chest again, forming that triangle with his fingers--

With five human fingers and four of brass. His arm twitched. 

Vex. 

Atlas Kaito smiled; it was all teeth. “We are your… salvation.”

Xenophon stepped back and slipped. Atlas did nothing as they tumbled backwards into the green mist of the Garden. 

His cold face was the last thing Xenophon saw as the world went black.

***

“We’re staying--”

“You can’t!”

“Someone has to, and we know the Vex better than anyone else--”

Aurora grabbed Xenophon’s chestplate with a snarl. “You are leaving! You are not staying here! You fucking idiot!”

Xenophon looked unusually serious. “This thing being here is… bad. It’s really bad. We can do it--”

“No.”

They all froze and looked at the Warlock.

Zavrik slowly removed his helmet and stared evenly at Xenophon. “You are a brave, noble Titan. But you are also part Vex. If this place doesn’t corrupt you, then it will traumatize you. Your expertise will help keep the Vex from transforming the moon. Eris will need you.” He took a breath. “I will stay.”

Aurora shook her head. “No way, hell no, no one is staying--”

“Aurora,” Zavrik said softly. He held out his hand. “I’ve already seen it. I’m going to stay. Not for long. Find out more from outside. Open the Garden again when the time is right. You’ll know it when it happens.”

“I’m not leaving anyone behind!”

“I’m not giving you the choice.”

***

Xenophon stared at the crumbling shell of the Undying Mind and felt time shatter.

Aurora straightened and dusted her cloak. “We did it. By the Sky… we killed the Undying Mind.”

Xenophon shook their head slowly. “It’s dead… it’s really dead… something’s wrong.”

“Huh? What?”

“We don’t know.” Xenophon’s hands shook. “It’s beyond what we can sense, from the collective…” They squeezed their optics closed. “Let’s go, now, we have to-- get to the Gate, fast, Zavrik!”

***

The Gate was active as they sprinted into the cave. 

“He’s in there?” Aurora asked.

Xen shook their head. “Just wait.”

“Wait?” Aurora frowned. “That’s my best friend, I’m not leaving him in there--”

"It's not time yet!" They grabbed her arm. "We can't go in."

She wrestled to free herself, snarling. "Let go! I'll kill every shitty robot in there myself--"

"Listen to us!" Xen grabbed her by the shoulders. "Aurora! Wait. Wait here. Do not go in there. We can't go in to look for him. He has to find us."

"You, or us?"

"You and us."

Aurora’s optics flickered and she squeezed them closed. “Zavrik…”

Xen eased their grasp, and she nearly crumbled against them, modulator hitching with terrified sobs. They held her gently. “He’s strong. He’s smart.” They glanced toward the gate with worry. “Maybe… maybe we can… help.”

Aurora straightened with a frown, still staticked. “Help…?”

Xen took a breath. “Stay here.”

“What are you--”

“We can… tap into the network. Try to get him a signal.”

Aurora nodded. “Okay. Just… be careful.”

They flashed a grin. “Always am.”

“You are not.”

Xen laughed and walked up toward the gate. They slowly reached out a hand, Goblin fingers steady and waiting. They closed their optics and focused. A hum of life, a song. 

They thrust their hand into the portal and closed their fingers around metal.

The Goblin screeched as Xenophon ripped it through space-time. 

“Oh, stop whining,” Xen said. Their hand heated, and the Goblin thrashed as their solar Light melted part of the crown of its head. “Sheesh. You can’t even feel.”

“Is that true?” Aurora asked.

Xen snorted. “Nope.” With that, Xen shoved the Goblin back into the portal and stepped back.

“Uh… okay. What is that gonna accomplish?”

“Guardian yanks a Vex out of a portal, melts its head, throws it back… the network’s already picked up on it. Our Light did it, so the Vex have a trace of it. Which means…”

“Zavrik can find it,” Aurora said. “You’re brilliant, Xen!”

They grinned. “Yeah, we know.”

“How long will it take him to--”

A Vex screeched, and both Guardians whirled around, raising their weapons.

The Minotaur staggered out of the portal. It didn’t have a chance to do anything before an ear-popping boom shook the cave.

A black hole ripped through the air and obliterated the Minotaur.

He landed on light feet and looked up at his fireteam.

“Don’t ever, ever let me do that again,” Zavrik said, breathless and hoarse. “Ever.”

Aurora bolted forward. “Zavrik! You’re okay!” She nearly bowled him over.

He tipped his head aside to avoid jabbing her with the horns of his helmet. “That’s debatable, but hello.”

Aurora held him tight, a purr in her modulator. “You’re alive…”

“Oh, I forgot you purr now! That’s cute.” He laughed.

Aurora frowned and stepped back. “Are you… what happened?”

Zavrik shrugged. He was filthy, his armor ripped and rusted and battered, half grown over with vegetation. “How long was I in there?”

“A few months.”

“Oh.” 

“It wasn’t like that for you,” Xenophon guessed, joining them.

“A few… centuries.”

Aurora’s hands flew to her mouth in horror.

Zavrik shook his head. “I knew I was going to get out. I saw that Goblin over and over again. I was chasing it down, tracking your Light. I knew it had to be from… well, I guess a few minutes ago. That you’d done it on purpose so I could find the gate when you opened it again. And then the Undying Mind… wasn’t so undying after all.” He chuckled dryly.

“Centuries… stars above, I’m so sorry… Zav…”

Zavrik reached for Aurora’s primary hands and held them. He was still cold. “It’s alright. I’ll… be okay. I think. Maybe.”

“What happened?” Xenophon asked, brushing his fingers along the leaves growing from Zavrik’s armor. 

"Mm… killing Vex for a couple hundred years… they kept trying to kill me, too. I… stopped being able to use solar Light. Then arc. Like I was… disconnected. And then void started to slip… so… I had to find it again. A different way. It was weird… I found a trace of void Light in a broken Goblin chassis. But I don't think it was from the Garden. I think it might have been from… the Infinite Forest… or the Vault. Saint-14… or Kabr…"

"Who?" Aurora asked in confusion.

"The Aegis," Zavrik said. 

"What?" 

"He never existed, except when he did," Xen said. "He was lost in the Vault and the Vex erased his timeline. No one but the Vex remember him."

"He was the Aegis, Aurora," Zavrik said. "We knew it."

"Okay, I'm confused." Aurora sighed. "You found a dead Vex that a Guardian killed with void Light. Start there."

"Not much from there. I thought of you. Xen. Carinna. Xevuul… and I found a new way to touch the void. I just had to… give into it. I think I went mad." He chuckled. "I'm starving. Absolutely famished. Do you have anything to eat?"

Aurora shook her head.

He huffed and crossed his arms. "Damn. I'm hungry."

Xenophon set a hand on each of their shoulders. "Let's get you home, Zavrik. Get you some food and… clean armor."

"Oh, thank the Sky, I want to take a shower!" 

**Author's Note:**

> come stop by my tumblr @lesbianeliksni


End file.
